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Mini Aussie Nipping and Growling at Cats

by Leah
(SD)

We have had our Mini Aussie since she was 10 weeks old. She grew up with the cats around her, so she should be used to them... that was our hope. She will be laying on her dog bed and a cat will walk by with 5 feet between them. She will growl at them and has now started to snap or nip at them. She rarely gives a warning sign, she just snaps at them.

We tell her to "leave it" or "NO". She will leave it that time but the next time she won't. We walk her everyday, mentally stimulate her with training and hiding treats for her to find, we give her love and attention. If we give her a bone to chew on she will guard it from the cats and snap at them more. So we are not sure what to do. We want to keep her but if she continues trying to bite the cats for no reason... it's hard to keep a dog like that around 3 cats.

Comments for Mini Aussie Nipping and Growling at Cats

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Cats
by: Neil

I wish that I had a solution for you but I can only describe my Aussies attitude about cats. Jasper was introduced to cats at 7 weeks of age. He loves 'his' cats but those that he does not consider his are fair game. As with most Aussies he tries to herd his cats but attempts to charge and attack strange ones. He and a 14 year old Maine Coon male are great buddies. The cat is allowed outside (on a enclosed deck only). When the cat comes back in the house, the first thing that he does is look for Jasper and goes to him and rubs on his muzzle. Jasper in turn licks the cats ears and then they go their seperate ways. It's kinda of like the cat is saying 'Hey, buddy, I am back'.

Thanks
by: Leah

Thanks for the info on how your Aussie and cats interact. Our little Siamese loves to rub up on our Aussie. But then our big orange cats wants nothing to do with her and she can't look at him with out him glaring at her. Kind of funny to see that the cats rule the roost. But then she will try to chase the orange cat if he is playing so we try to stop her from doing so. Less stress on the cat, and less chance of her getting her getting glared at or a swat from him big paws.

My aussie hates cats
by: Anonymous

I have the most laid back aussie but the only thing that really ticks him off its cats ... Im not sure how that aversion came up . we don't have cats but if he sees one he goes for the kill to a point that if I take him to a vet and there are cats around even caged I have to be outside waiting my turn to get in or hell breaks loose...

Cats
by: Carmine

It depends on the dog. A neighbor has 3 Aussies and they get along fine with her cats. Last year I adopted an eleven year old Aussie who lived with cats. She knows which cats will run and which will ignore her. I do rescue and have 30 cats so I need a cat friendly dog. I really wanted a Greyhound but the prey drive is re-enforced at the track with the training. Not a good choice for a prey rich environment.

Growls at cat
by: Danielle

Our Mini has been with us since he was 9 weeks and our 2 cats were 4 years old. There was a long drawn out acclimation period but at the 12-18 month mark everyone seemed to tolerate each other with no issues. Fast forward 3 years and our Mini gets along great with our boy cat to the point where they sleep together and our dog will lick our cats face, sleep with him, walk on him, in general anything is fine. Our girl cat is a whole different story. She is curious about our dog but every time she comes near him he does a low throat growl. We can all be sitting peacefully watching tv and as soon as our girl cat jumps up our Aussie gets alert and growls. They have never had any negative interactions that we are aware of. We wonder if it is a dominant thing. Our girl cat does what she wants whenever she wants and that does not seem to sit well with our Aussie.

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